The present invention relates in general to removing a broken shaft from a threaded holder and pertains, more particularly, to a tool for extracting a broken flight support shaft from a threaded barrel of a dart assembly. The tool of this invention provides an improvement over the conventional methods used to remove the threaded stubs of broken shafts.
With the conventional dart assembly, a barrel usually of metal has opposing ends. A point is press fitted and or glued or threaded into one end of the barrel. A flight support shaft is typically threaded into the opposite end of the barrel. The conventional shaft is plastic or any other suitable lightweight material having sufficient strength to support the flight and withstand the impact associated with conventional dart games of skill.
As will be appreciated by those familiar with higher level of play and competition, the dart barrels and other members are often imported or special order and their value can be substantial, particularly when a player may have multiple sets of darts.
The plastic shaft is subject to breakage due to the impact of other darts or from dropping and breaking if the dart does not stick in a dart board when thrown. If the broken off piece or stub of the shaft remaining in the barrel cannot be extracted, then the player has lost use of the dart until it can be repaired.
Another drawback associated with the conventional shafts is that they tend to break at flush or below flush near the end of the dart barrel without leaving enough of the shaft extending out of the barrel to get a purchase on in order to remove this broken shaft stub and insert a new or replacement shaft. Existing dart barrels also have a drawback related to their size, they are usually so small that the player does not have a tool readily available to remove or extract the shaft stub.
It has been observed that a player will attempt to extract the broken stub with a pocket knife or the point of another dart, either method provides the opportunity for the knife or the point of the dart to slip off of the broken shaft stub into ones hand or fingers. Darts are used by a particular player and are not often shared between players, particularly at competitive levels of tournament play. As a result, players will bring extra darts to a competition, thus requiring an often substantial investment in additional darts.